Arsenal v Stoke; Premier League Match Preview
The nonsense is over. The January transfer window is shut and with it all the silliness that comes with it. For now there is just February through to May focus on football. And it all kicks off as Stoke come to visit at the Emirates.
Arsenal supporters we love Stoke. Why, because the exact opposite of everything this club reportedly stands for. They don’t espouse to playing a romantic style of football. For them it is grit and fire. They don’t particularly travel and usually set up to just defend, defend, defend, and defend.
Since they’ve come into the Premier League 5 years ago, they have one goal in mind – don’t go back down. They don’t compete for improvement. They just compete (if you want to call it that) to stay up. To that end, their tactics grate on those who love to see a flowing game. Actually, they grate on anybody who wants to see an actual game of any substance.
With Stoke that is unlikely to happen. They’ve had moments, like their surprise win over Manchester City two seasons ago. And at home they are a formidable force to play against. The good thing for Arsenal is they aren’t playing at the Britannia. Arsenal have not travelled well to Stoke only winning once. However, it’s when Stoke come down to London that the fun begins. Arsenal have yet to lose to Stoke at the Emirates. In fact in 10 games in all competitions, Arsenal have not lost to the visitors.
However, those stats worry me as we’ve all discovered this season silly stats like that are being broken at a regular clip. Additionally, Arsenal our glorious Arsenal haven’t been the shining example of consistency or form. In fact Arsenal’s form is so consistently up and down that Opta’s show that Arsenal have made more errors leading directly to a goal than any other team in the Premier League this season. And that is why we find ourselves in the predicament we find ourselves in now.
Arsenal have to win this match. The should’ve beaten Liverpool – soundly but they made, like we’ve discussed all season, stupid mental errors which cost them. They must simply cut this out. When you look at the performances of the teams directly around Arsenal and competing for Champion’s League spot they aren’t that much better. And all it will take to move into pole position is a solid run of form.
For sure that battle for 3rd and 4th is going to come down to the wire. But February is set up with 3 matches on the run that Arsenal could net 9 points from. If they could do that, starting off with a win versus Stoke, then it sets up a battle for top 4 when we travel away to White Heart Lane.
But that is too far ahead in the future for now. Right now, Arsenal have to concentrate (something they don’t do well) on this one game. But it is set up nicely as Stoke have only managed to get 1 point from the last 12 points available to them.
We’ve gone through it ad nauseum about Arsenal needing to show up. We’ve discussed how if the season were built solely on the basis of second half performances Arsenal would be fighting for the title. And that’s what is so crappy about this whole season (so far) the talent is obviously there. The ability is obviously there. The only thing missing – the consistent 90 minute performances.
I’m going to say something I know people won’t support or will ridicule but hey its my blog and I am entitled to it – this team doesn’t know how good it is. It doesn’t believe in itself – or at least that seems to be the case.
What else can explain coming out for a half of play looking like a dear in headlights and then coming out in a second half and looking as deadly as any team in Europe. Sure you could argue they are trying to be patient and wait things out. Problem is they’ve also been conceding more goals in the first half. So that waiting out isn’t clearly working.
To me it is all the classic examples of underperformance. If they want to get to the Champion’s league, they need to pull it all together beginning now. With Stoke they have an opportunity to begin to move forward. It won’t be easy Stoke are going to sit back compactly and let Arsenal have the ball. The good thing is they aren’t especially pacy so we don’t have to worry about our defenders getting caught out of step.
With everything done in terms of silly rumours and the like it’s now time to concentrate only on football. I’m glad about that. Like many of the other people associated with football, I personally find the transfer windows (especially January) stupid. The good thing is now we have 4 months or so of unadulterated football and I can’t wait.
Players to watch:
Arsenal: Nacho Monreal. Arsenal’s deadline day deal. Competes with Jordi Alba for the starting LB spot in the Spanish National team. Solid enough of a player that Kieran Gibbs may have to fight for his position when he gets healthy.
Stoke: Ryan Shawcross. Is there any Stoke player worth focusing on? He is the object of a lot of disgust from Arsenal fans and rightly so.
How the Match Should Play Out:
We all know. Stoke will sit back and defend with 10 men behind the ball keeping Peter “Lurch” Crouch up to top for the hopes of a counter. (Notice I didn’t say quick.) Arsenal are going to have to exhibit something in between urgency and patience. With 10 men behind the ball a lot of channels for passing are likely to be clogged – hence the patience. But given the current state of things in the Arsenal universe; a slow plodding, thoughtful performance would only add to the frustration the supporters are feeling and vocalizing. In the end I see a comfortable Arsenal win.
Projected Lineups:
Injuries and Suspensions:
Arsenal: Gibbs (thigh), Coquelin (hamstring), Gervinho (international duty), Fabianski (match fitness).
Stoke: Wilson (match fitness)
Leading Scorers:
Arsenal: Walcott 11
Stoke: Walters 5, Crouch 5
Assists Leaders:
Arsenal: Podolski 9
Stoke: Crouch 3, Whelan 3
Last Meeting (EPL):
Arsenal: 0
Stoke: 0
Goals For:
Arsenal (home): 2.7
Stoke (away): 0.7
Goals Against:
Arsenal (home): 1.5
Stoke: (away): 1.3
Last Five:
Arsenal: DWLLD
Stoke: DLLLD
Goal Difference:
Arsenal: 19
Stoke: -5
Match Official:
Referee: Chris Foy. Matches 16, R0 Y23
Broadcast Information:
US: FoxSoccer Plus 10:oo AM EST
UK: BBC Match of the Day One (Highlights)
YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal: 3
Stok: 1
